Emirates has said it is satisfied with its performance in the former Yugoslavia, which it serves both through its own seasonal operations, as well as its partner Flydubai. Speaking to the "Austrian Aviation" portal, Emirates' Area Manager for Austria, Slovakia, Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Bosnia & Herzegovina, Martin Gross, highlighted Sarajevo as a "rapidly developing" route, despite strong competition from other regional counterparts including Air Arabia, Flynas and Qatar Airways. "There are many destinations [in the region] which are performing well. Sarajevo, for example, is developing very rapidly. Flydubai now flies there three times per day during the summer", Mr Gross said. The carrier will maintain four weekly flights to Bosnia and Herzegovina's capital during the upcoming winter season, the same as last year. The route was to be upgraded to the Boeing 737 MAX 9 jet, however, the deployment has been put on hold due to the global grounding of the aircraft type.

Commenting on Emirates' operations in Zagreb, Mr Gross noted, "Zagreb is an example of how much our cooperation with Flydubai managed to improve our results. We served the route in winter with our Boeing 777 aircraft. Then last year, the route was maintained for five months by Flydubai aircraft. This winter, Flydubai will operate for the entire winter season because it emerged that this route is not as strong in winter, so we can still continue serving Zagreb well". He added, "The cooperation with Flydubai is definitely a success story for Emirates". This winter season, Flydubai will maintain five weekly flights to the Croatian capital (with exception to the first week of the winter schedule), down from daily last year. "Zagreb was operated with Boeing 737 MAX equipment, but had to be moved to the B737-800. So the entire flight plan had to change and has been partially reduced. Now we have to see when the B737 MAX is allowed to fly again", the Area Manager added.

Mr Gross noted the airline is satisfied with its performance across the former Yugoslavia. "We are well positioned in the region of the former Yugoslavia through our cooperation with Flydubai", he said. In addition to Zagreb and Sarajevo, Flydubai will also maintain daily flights to Belgrade this winter, up from five weekly last year, and Skopje, which will operate twice per week, as was the case during the 2018/19 winter season. Emirates codeshares on all of Flydubai's services in the former Yugoslavia, which are run from Dubai Airport's terminal three. When booked together, as part of the codeshare, Emirates passengers will receive complimentary meals and the Emirates checked baggage allowance on flights operated by Flydubai in both business and economy classes. In the region, both airlines cater primarily for transfer passengers continuing on to far-away destinations. In addition to its home market of Dubai, Australian, Asian and Indian Ocean destinations are on top of the list for passengers originating from the former Yugoslavia and travelling with the two airlines. However, both have seen a rise in travellers from the Gulf heading to the former Yugoslav markets for leisure purposes.